[Alexyouknow]

Hello everyone. I have been concussed 6 weeks ago in kickboxing sparring. I had all the typical symptoms up until about 2 weeks ago. I researched a bit on the internet and experimented with various approaches and I believe that this is what finally healed me up:

-avoid hitting your head again

-healthy nutrition and enough sleep and rest

-avoid hard exercise like heavy weightlifting, until you can do the cardio described below without much problems (doing some push ups, pull ups or pistol squats is ok, just dont shoot up your blood pressure with heavy squats or bench pressing, since that will make your symptoms WAY worse for some days (tried it myself))

-20 minutes of cardio training per day. It is very important that you do this without making your symptoms worse during the exercise. This could mean that you start with cardio around 5 days after the concussion and maybe just go for a light walk without feeling bad. After a few weeks you may be able to start jogging/running. Try to get your pulse a bit higher from session to session without aggravating your symptoms.

-Depending on your specific symptoms, you should do specific exercises for around 15 minutes every day. One of the best are trying to balance on one foot with your eyes closed or focusing on a point on the wall and slowly turning your head while keeping your eyes focused
-try to limit computer/tv/smartphone use. I feel like this made my symptoms much worse in the first few weeks. I would suggest to read a book and limit computer/tv/smartphone to 2 hrs per day maximum

-this may sound a bit ridiculous to most of you but it was a big one for my recovery. Stop masturbating and stop watching porn. Following my concussion I got really depressed and secluded and started ** like 4-5 times a day. This made me feel even worse and I had terrible headaches, depression and felt tired all the time. Here are some studies that go into some details :

Please, just try this out for a week and let me know how you feel. As I´ve said I really believe that this protocoll is what healed me up. If you have anything to add or to criticize, please let me know.
Good luck with your recovery!!!

Note: I had several links (sources for my claims) that I couldnt post, because I dont have enough posts yet

[russiarulez]

I'm very happy that it worked out for you.

Please be careful for at least the next 6 months, just because you don't have any symptoms, doesn't mean you're 100% healed.

My symptoms came back around 3 months with a vengeance when I wasn't patient enough.

If I were you I would stop contact sports. Looking back after this ordeal I realized that I had PCS symptoms throughout the last 15 years, I just didn't attribute them to concussions sustained in boxing (mostly eye issues). I did boxing and MMA stuff on and off for most of my life.

[Mark in Idaho]

Alexyouknow,

Glad to hear you are doing good.

Interesting list. Some are part of the experts' protocol. Some go against the experts' protocol.

Whether this caused your improvement will never be known. 85% of concussions resolve spontaneously (without doing anything) within the first 6 weeks or so. You have an 85% probability of being in that group that experienced spontaneous recovery..

[Alexyouknow]

Originally Posted by russiarulez

I'm very happy that it worked out for you.

Please be careful for at least the next 6 months, just because you don't have any symptoms, doesn't mean you're 100% healed.

My symptoms came back around 3 months with a vengeance when I wasn't patient enough.

If I were you I would stop contact sports. Looking back after this ordeal I realized that I had PCS symptoms throughout the last 15 years, I just didn't attribute them to concussions sustained in boxing (mostly eye issues). I did boxing and MMA stuff on and off for most of my life.

Thanks for your input. Yeah I think you are right. I plan on stopping Muay Thai/Kickboxing and taking on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu instead (in a few months).

I think it would be awesome if some of you tried my tips out for a week and let us all know how you feel. And as I`ve said, do the cardio only in your comfort zone. If you feel terrible doing it and get really nauseous and stuff then stop. Try to start with light walking.

[Mark in Idaho]

The cardio protocol, if used for persistent PCS takes many weeks to see a difference. If the improvement is quicker than that, it would border on being a spontaneous recovery. The Buffalo Protocol suggests increase target heart rate in steps of a week or two, depending on tolerance.

[Alexyouknow]

Originally Posted by Mark in Idaho

The cardio protocol, if used for persistent PCS takes many weeks to see a difference. If the improvement is quicker than that, it would border on being a spontaneous recovery. The Buffalo Protocol suggests increase target heart rate in steps of a week or two, depending on tolerance.

I actually did the cardio for 2 weeks until it really helped. The other points I made are also important in my opininion. Just try it all out, won`t cost you anything

[chasann]

Speaking from my own experience and observer of other family members with brain injury who were at the pearly gates and came back, exercise has to be one of the keys in recovery. But one should always continue with it.

We were fortunate in having a good Physio who showed me how to exercise paitents when bed ridden. I used these exercises to good advantage never knowing I would need it for myself!

I look at what my son and a cousin have achieved since their accidents, when both were given so little hope and it is my firm belief that exercise, their stubbornness and refusal to give up stood them in good stead. One now cycles for miles, the other walked for miles, both of them having had to relearn how to walk, talk, eat etc etc.

I smile when they are called 'walking miracles'.

[DrewDigital]

I totally agree with you about quitting porn. Glad to hear others are speaking out against it!

[Alexyouknow]

So after being almost completely symptom free for about 2 weeks I decided to do some weight training. I did heavy squats, deadlifts and bench pressing.
After the last few sets I felt some symptoms returning and felt pretty bad for the rest of the day. However, this feeling reminded me of the symptoms I had when I initially started cardio training, which helped me in the end.

Call me crazy but 2 days later, I did the exact same workout again and this time I was almost SYMPTOM FREE. Now 10 days afterwards, I feel great.
From what I have experienced, stressing you brain a little with cardio, or (later) weightlifting, can be a useful tool to recover and regain the fitness of your body and of your brain. Maybe the brain and/or the way it handles blood flow and pressure can be trained, just like a muscle.

I dont want anyone to hurt himself by overdoing it with a concussion. However, my takeaway from this is, that physical activity can help healing your brain if you stay in that sweet spot of not going too hard and giving yourself enough time to recover.
Good luck everyone

[Mark in Idaho]

Good for you.

Your exercising is not healing your brain. You are reconditioning your brain to tolerate increase blood pressure and heart rate. Some do not have a blood pressure/heart rate limitation. Others take weeks to months to recondition their brain to tolerate blood pressure/heart rate increases.

Every concussion is different, At 7-8 weeks out, it appears your concussion is one of the 85% that is spontaneously healing in that 6 week or bit more period I spoke about.